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ROME — The 15 bishops of the Iraq-based Chaldean Catholic Church began meeting in Rome yesterday to elect a new patriarch to succeed 85-year-old Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad.

According to Vatican Radio, the first day of their synod was devoted to prayer and spiritual reflection. Today they are scheduled to listen to reports about their communities in a still-struggling Iraq and about the immigrant Chaldean Catholic communities around the world. They are scheduled to begin voting for a patriarch tomorrow.